€70m hike in runway cost not ‘justified’

Transport Minister Shane Ross has said a €70m cost increase for the second parallel runway at Dublin Airport is not “justified”.

In 2014, the cost of the runway development stood at €250m but earlier this year, when the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) announced the project was going ahead, the price tag had jumped to €320m.

Mr Ross said the DAA had not yet convinced him the increase was justified. He was speaking after Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary yesterday severely criticised the cost escalation.